Valve mechanism



Dec. l1 1923.

R. FQ HALLlwr-:LL

VALVE MECHANI SM Filed Nov. 17 1921 Inventor: Reginald FI-Ialliwell, ba

letented @en lll, i323.

REGINAJLD l?. HALLUJVELL, OF. LEAJJHNGTQN, ENGLAND, ASSGNOR TO GENERAL ELEC- TREC COIIPANY, il.. COREORATON OF NEW YORK.

VALVE MECHANISJEK.

Application filed tovenrberl'?, 1921. Seriali No.. 515,939.

To ally 'whom tm/ray concern.

Be it known. that l, RnGiNAm FRANCIS HA-LLIWELL, a. subject of the. King oiGreat Britain, residinoat Leamington, county oit Warwickshire, ngland, have. inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in. Valve. Mechanisms, of which the followingis a. specification.y

The. presenty invention relates to valve mechanisms and particularly thatl typey of valve mechanism usually termed combined trip. and throttle valves, and has. for. its object to provide an improved. structure and arrangement in. valvev mechanism of this type.

Referring to the drawing, 3s indicates a` valve casingv havingl a seat a upon which. a.

valve 5 seats. Valve casing: 3 has ahead 6v providedy witha. stuffing box 7 thnough whichv valvespindle 8 passes. Valve 5y may be of any suitable or desired type which is opened: and closed by axial movements.v ot spindle 8,. the particular type of valve form.-

ing'ndpart of the present invention. ln. the,

present instance a knowntypeoi valve com.- prising a pilot valve 5a and. balancing piston 5b is illustrated. In Fig. 2, 9 indicates an admission conduit connected' to valve casing 3 and 10 indicates av conduit connecting the discharge side of the valve to the fluid chest 1110i :inelastic-fluid turbine'12.

Valve spindle 8 is connected to a valve stem 13 by a swivel connection which permitsstem 13 to turnwithout turning spindle 8 and they valve. ln the present instance this connection is formed' by providing the lower end of stem 13 with. a hollow head s connected at its lower end to spindle 8 as indicated at'V 18. Link 17 passes loosely through bushing 15 and it will be clear that while-stem 13 will open and close the valvewh'en moved axially, itrmay turn without turning spindle @andy the valve.I

23. Piston 23 slides in a cylinder 24, rod 22.

passing out through the head 25 of such..

cylinder. |lhe piston. 23. and rod 22: are held from turning by a spline 26 arranged between the rod- 22 andv head 25. Located between. piston and cylinder head 25 are oneor more springs-27 whichy act in a direction to force piston 23 toward the bottom of cylinder 24 and thus serve tobiasvalve 5 to--y ward closed position. Stem 13J passes loosely through piston 23 ands pist-on; rod 22 and surrounding stem. 13: is a sleeve 23which at its lower end is fixed to the base 29 of cylinder 24 and at its upper'end is providedwith a shoulder 30 located. justy above. and adapted tol beengaged' by a shoulder' 31 in the bore of rod 22.. In rod 22 are a number of openings 32 which form. aV conduit connecting. the space below piston 23 with the space above it, and` shoulders 30 and: 3l form in substancev a valve means for closing these. openings or conduit when. the parts are in the positions shown in Fig. l. When piston. 23 movesy downward in the cylinder, shoulder 31 moves away from shoulder 3() whereby the spacebelow piston 23 is connected to thespace above it by way of a clearancespace 33 and openings 32. At 34e is a. waste pipe connected to cylinder 24 above the piston.. Connected to cylinder 2lbelow thepistonv` is a pressurelpipe 35 whichy leads toa valve casing 36 in which is a threeway valve.' 37 which 1n one position connects pipe 35` toy apipeA 33: leading from` a suitable source of pressure: and.y in another position cuts ofr connection with pipe 38 and connectspipe 35`to a discharge pipe 39. Connected to valve 37 is anl operating arm 40 by' means of which the' valve may be moved. manuallyor by suitable automatic means toI connect piper 35` to. either pipe 33 or pipe 39.

Carried by cylinder base29 is a framev 4:1 in which is rotatably mounted asleeve 4-2 having a bevel. gear 43 at its outer. or lower end. Meshing with bevel gear 43 is. a bevel pinion 4e' carried by` a shaft 45, onftheouter end of which isa hand wheel 46. Headl 14. slides in sleeve a2; and between the head and the sleeve is a spline` i7 vwhich connectsV the head to the sleeveso they'must- Sil?.

turn together hutpermits the sleeve to move axially relatively to the head. lt will thus be seen that when hand wheel 46 is operated sleeve 42 and stem 13 will be turned and due to the engagement of threads 2O on the end of stem 13 with the threads in sleeve 21 stem 13 will be moved axially to open or close the valve depending upon in which direction hand wheel 46l is turned.

The operation is as follows:

``With the parts in the positions shown in Fig. 1, lluidl pressure enters cylinder 24 by way of pipe 38, valve 37 and pipe 35, main4 taining pressure under piston 23and hold.- ing it in the position shown against the action of springs 27. In this position of ythe partsshoulder31 engages shoulder 30 so that communication between the` under side of piston 23 and the upper side through openings 32 is shut oil.v Shoulder 30 acts as a stop to limit the upward movement of piston and also serves to position v.piston rod 22 and the sleeve 21. 4The valve 5 maybe now opened and closed manually by turning hand wheel 46 in one direction or the other.-

' valve, while when turned in the other direction stem 13 will be turned in a direction to cause threads 2O to ride down on the threads in sleeve v21 to close the valve. During these movements it will be clear that, due to spline 47, sleeve 42 and rod 13 turn together and the rod moves vertically relatively to the sleeve. rlhe valve can thus be fully opened, closed, or set in any intermediate position by the hand wheel. v

Il' vat any time, it is desired to quickly close the valveindependeiitly oli hand wheel 46, arm 40 is moved to operate valve 3? so disconnect pipe 35 from pipe 33 andconncci; it to `discharge pipe 39. rllhis is effected by a 90O movement of arm 40 toward the left in Fig. 1. When valve 37 .is turned to this position, the fluid pressure under piston 23 is relieved through pipe 35, valve 3l and discharge -pipe 39 so that springs 2i' may force piston 23 downward in the cylinder to close valve 5. During this movement it will be seen that rod 22 and sleeve 21 move along withipiston 23, the -valve being thus closed independently oi the threaded connection between sleeve 21 and stem 13. As soon as piston 23 starts to move downward vin cylinder 24, shoulder 31 moves away from shoulder 30 whereupon fluid from the under side of piston 23 may then escape through clearance space opene ings 32 and discharge pipe 34. This provides additional area for the escape of fluid pressure from beneath piston 23 so as to ac celerate the closing movement of the valve.

1l/Vhen hand wheel 46 is turned .in one direction,

invasie vby movement of piston 23, it 'cannot be again opened by movingcontrol valve 37 back to its original position wherein iiuid pressure pipe 38 is connected to pipe 35, i.

e. by the restoration ol the pressure under piston 23. Under these conditions tluid pressure admitted to the under side' of piston 23 will. esca e through clearance s aces 33, openings 22 and discharge pipe 34, so no.

pressure will be `built up under piston23 to effect an opening oit valve 5. ln order to open the valve and again set the tripping mechanism it is necessar to turn handv wheel 46 in a direction to close the valve. l/Vhen this is done, since the valve is already on its seat, the threads in sleeve 21 will be forced to ride upthe threads .2() on the upper end of stem 13, thereby raising the piston 23 in cylinder 24. This operation is continued yuntil shoulder 31 .again comes into engagement with shoulder 30 to close openings 32. Fluid pressure when admitted beneath piston 23 will build up a pressure toihold the piston in the position to which it has been moved by hand wheel 46 and hold sleeve 21 in its uppermost position.

By turning handwlieel 46 in theopposition direction, the valve then can be opened as before described. lt will thus be seen that alter valve 5 has beenclosed by the reliei' of fluid pressure under piston 23, the piston must be reset manually before the valve can be opened again.

l preferably connect lluid pressure pipe lll() 38 with the torce feed lubricating system 'for the prime mover in connection with which the valve is used. rllhis provides -a suitable supply of fluid pressure and in addition has the advantage that in case the lubricating system orthe prime mover fails,`

the emergency combined trip and throttle valve will be immediately closed. Vflien' this happens restoration of the fluid pressure ol lubricating system will not again open the combined trip and .throttle valve because the shoulder 31 will have moved away from shoulder 30. :if the `lubricating system fails therefore, it is necessary to reset the shown in Fig. 2 asbeing connected with anV emergency trip mechanism of turbine 12,'

such trip mechanism beingshown diagrammatically and by way of example only. As shown, it comprises a rod 50 biased toward As will be ap-` llO lll

the left by the spring 51 and held against such biasing force by a hook 52 which engages with a hook 53 on a pivoted trip finger 54. rlhe turbine shaft 55 is provided with an eccentrically disposed ring 56 which in case of excess speed moves outwardly striking the end of trip finger 54, thereby releasing rod A whereupon spring 51 pushes it toward the left to shift the position of valve 37. It will be understood that this is a known arrangement of emergency trip mechanism, its specific structure forming no part of the present invention, and is to be taken as typical of any rsuitable arrangement of' this character.

ln accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, l have described the principle of operation of my invention, together with the apparatus which l now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof; but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative, and that the invention may be carried out by other means.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is,-

1. In a valve mechanism, the combination of a valve, a stem connected thereto, a fluid pressure supported piston member, a threaded connection between said stem and member whereby the valve may be opened manually, means for supplying fluid pressure to said member to hold it in fixed position,

means Yfor relieving the fluid pressure on said member to permit the valve to close independently of the threaded connection, and means forming a second discharge passage for relieving pressure on said member.

2. In a valve mechanism, the combination of a valve, a stem for the valve, a cylinder, a piston therein, a conduit for supplying fluid pressure to the cylinder to hold the piston in fixed position therein, a connection between the stem and piston whereby the valve may be opened and closed manually, a valve in said conduit for disconnecting the cylinder from the supply of fluid pressure and connecting it to a region of lower pressure, a second conduit connected to the cylinder, and valve means therein which is normally closed but is opened when the pressure under the piston is relieved, whereby restoration of the fluid pressure cannot effect opening of said valve.

3. In a valve mechanism, the combination of a valve, a stem for the valve, a cylinder, a piston in the cylinder, a threaded connection between the piston and stem through which the valve may be opened and closed manually, means biasing the piston toward one end of the cylinder, a conduit for supplying fluid pressure to the cylinder' to hold the piston in fixed position toward the other end of the cylinder in opposition to said biasing means, valve means for relieving the pressure in the cylinder to permit the piston to move and actuate the valve, and means forming a dischargeconduit for the cylinder which is opened when the piston moves from its fixed position.

4. In a valve mechanism, the combination of a. valve casing, a valve therein` a cylinder mounted on the valve casing, a piston in the cylinder provided with an axial opening,

said piston being bia-sed toward! one end of the cylinder, a stem for the valve which extends through said opening, means forming a threaded connection between the stem and piston whereby the valve may be opened and closed manually, a conduit for supplying fluid pressure to the cylinder to hold the piston in a fixed position against its biasing force, and means forming a discharge con- -duit for the cylinder which is closed by a part of the piston when held in fixed position.

5. The combination with an elastic-fluid prime mover having a pressure lubricating system, of a combined trip and throttle valve mechanism controlling the admission of elastic fluidi to the prime mover, said valve mechanism comprising a valve having a stem, a movable member, a connection between the stem and movable member whereby the valve may be opened and closed manually, a conduit connected to said lubricating system for supplying fluid pressure to said movable member to hold it in a fixed, stationary position, an emergency governor for the turbine, a valve in said conduit controlled by the emergency governor, and means forming a discharge conduit for said movable member, said discharge conduit being closed when the movable member is in its xed, stationary position.

ln witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 12th day of November, 1921.

REGINALD F. HALLIWELL. 

